Ring of Fire (2013 TV Movie) User Reviews

Half-way decent

[deadasjuliuscaesar · 7/10 · 30 May 2013]

So, it's not 'Walk the Line'. But as the Phoenix/Witherspoon film was hardly flawless itself, I can't be too hard on this one. I'm not familiar with Jewel's music, but she portrayed June Carter very authentically. Far closer to the real June than Witherspoon (even if Witherspoon is the more seasoned actress). Johnny was not cast especially well, though he did okay. Didn't sound anything like Johnny when singing, which is a shame. Neither did Phoenix for that matter. Too bad they couldn't get that guy who tours with the Million Dollar Quartet show. He was very authentic-sounding.

Overall, good casting, particularly Mother Maybelle. Her funeral scene was really a heartfelt treat to see depicted (Why they cast a 'big' woman in Walk the Line, I'll never know. Maybelle was NEVER more than skinny). I like how they took this film to the end of June's life, but really disappointed that there wasn't more of her music. They did well in the first half-hour, then resorted to typical Lifetime drama for the rest. The film was far too short to give this love story justice. They would have been better served having more of the Carter Family years depicted as their story is virtually unknown/forgotten (read Mark Zwonitzer's book 'Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone'). And, as others have already stated, how the heck can they have 'Wabash Cannonball' TWICE and 'Jackson' not even ONCE?

Ending on a positive note, closing the film with 'Far Side Banks of Jordan' was a brilliant move. Nice touch.

Great music!

[jan1550 · 7/10 · 24 August 2013]

I didn't expect to like the music in this movie. I only watched it because it was directed by Allison Anders. Her "Gas Food Lodging" and "Mi Vida Loca" are among my all-time favorites.

The title suggests a movie about Johnny Cash, whose music I never cared for. I've never had much interest in June Carter or Jewel either, but in this movie I absolutely loved Jewel singing as June Carter. And she was so beautiful! Watching her sing was as much a pleasure as hearing her. I don't know whether she resembled the real June Carter, but she looked like a superstar, which I guess June Carter was in her time. She was Elvis' girlfriend, and she married Cash when he was the biggest star in the music business.

Even better was the group of actors singing as the Carter Family. I like the old Carter Family recordings, but the actors in this movie sound like a much better group from the same era, especially Michelle Kabashinski singing as Sara Carter. I'd love to have a CD of her singing old time songs in that style.

I can only think of 3 or 4 movies whose music I enjoyed as much. The rest of the movie was sometimes enjoyable and sometimes tedious. I'm sure I'll watch the music scenes again many times on DVD, but probably skipping past all the rest.

Worst Johnny Cash ever

[madwand6 · 5/10 · 2 August 2020]

As a lifelong fan of JC, I watched this for the story, knowing the telling of it wasn't going to be good. It made me angry to watch this shamefully bad production, but that is the general feeling anyone with any sense has when watching anything Lifetime puts out. Maybe I'm spoiled because Joaquin Phoenix actually made an effort. Who is this loser playing the Master? Ironically, Jewell is one of my favorite singers after JC, so it was nice seeing her playing June, I feel like she did alright with what she had to work with. I'm glad I watched it, because of the story, but I really didn't enjoy it at all. Shame on Lifetime. As usual.

Not good

[ablondmoment · 2/10 · 28 May 2013]

This was to be about June and the love of her life Johnny Cash. There was no chemistry between them in this movie. I am not even sure why this movie was made it was the same story as Walk the line. Just not as good.

Matt Ross was not the person to play Johnny he didn't even look like him. Every time he was on the screen until someone said John I would think who is he? Jewel sang like Jewel instead of acting and singing like June. How can they make this movie without June and Johnny singing Jackson? It was not sang once in this movie.

This movie skipped all over the place it was boring. There is no way it could compete with Walk the line.

2 hours of my life I won't get back

[mvdonnamae-697-696051 · 1/10 · 28 May 2013]

This movie was awful. If you've seen Walk the Line, this will be absolute torture. Jewel has a great voice, but this movie was all over the map. I know this was Junes story, but it jumped time and time again. With Walk the line, you had a sense of how difficult it was for June to be divorced twice before Johnny. This movie just dumbed her down and not nearly enough music- IE: Jackson. I have to watch "Walk the Line" again to get the bad taste out of my mouth. As for the actor portraying Johnny, it was an absolute miss. He looked the same age at the beginning of the movie as he did at the end, for the exception of the final scene. Did I mention that he couldn't sing either? The same goes for June (Jewel). It wasn't until the end that they decided to give her a few wrinkles and gray streaks, however she did a nice job singing.

Ring of FIre 2013

[nsfer16 · 10/10 · 27 May 2013]

Although some readers compare this movie to Walk The Line, I disagree. This new movie focuses more on the life of June Carter Cash & the tremendous love she had for Johnny Cash. She stood by him through his addiction and helped him recover. Jewel was excellent in her part of June Carter Cash - her mannerisms were "spot on". Although I have given it 10 stars, I found that the actor who played Johnny Cash was unbelievable as the singer. Other than that I found the movie very enjoyable and recommend it to others. Get ready to shed a few tears at the end. An interesting fact is that Johnny Cash died only four months after June Carter Cash died. I think he died of heartbreak after losing her.

Do not expect a movie about Johnny Cash and his music. This is about June getting him off drugs, over and over. I say B-

[cosmo_tiger · 1 June 2013]

"I fell for you like a child, oh but the fire went wild." June Carter (Jewel) is a member of country musics most famous family. After two failed marriages and a successful music career she finally gives in and marries country's bad boy, Johnny Cash (Ross). She then starts her new life singing, playing, raising kids and trying to keep Johnny clean. Some prove more difficult then others. Just about everyone know the story of these two icons. I am a huge Johnny Cash fan and even though this was a Lifetime movie I was still looking forward to seeing it. I do have to admit that Jewel did a pretty good job of playing June in this but no where close to how good Reese Witherspoon was. As far as the guy playing Johnny Cash...it would have been hard to even come close to Joaquin Phoenix but this guy was just bad. His acting was OK, but he looked and sounded nothing like him. In fact the whole movie I thought the guy looks more like Merle Haggard then Johnny Cash. As far as the actual movie "Walk The Line" dealt with Cash's drug problems fairly harsh but also had the music mixed in. This movie is more of a bio-pic of June Carter, but it's pretty much her helping Johnny get sober over and over. I know it's Lifetime and it does show how strong June was, but after the third scene of her telling Johnny he has to stop it becomes very repetitive and really starts to lose some of the emotion. Do not be like me and go in expecting a Johnny Cash movie with music, that's not what this is. Overall, Jewel does a good job but this is nothing like I expected. I give it a B-.

Hard To Watch!

[m_michaud · 2/10 · 10 June 2013]

Lame entrance of Johnny Cash into the storyline.

Jewel's lip syncing was horrible at best.

Her first marriage lasts maybe an entire (1)minute of the entire movie before it is over-with.

The years fly by in a flash, which really sucked.

Her relationship with Johnny Cash was completely unbelievable where as he was poised as a star before she was, which is not true.

Overall the movie was impossible to watch and a huge disappointment.

I had to shut it off merely 30 minutes into it.

Glad I cut this one short and saved my time for a better movie.

Pass on this one!

Love this!

[pwap · 9/10 · 27 May 2013]

Jewel did an amazing job portraying the timeless beauty June Carter Cash. I don't think it's fair to compare this movie to Walk The Line or other works based on the life of the Carters/Cash Families. They were all written through different views and different people. Matt Ross did an okay job playing Johnny Cash, but the vocals were lacking in the music area from him. Jewel astounded me with not only her vocals but her appearance as well. There were quite a few spots in the movie where Ross carried himself exactly they way we were accustomed to seeing Mr. Johnny Cash. He also had some physical similarities as well. It's hard to try to mimic a man with such unique handsomeness and features.

Overall, I would totally recommend this to Carter/Cash fans and anyone else interested in a quick "behind the scenes glance" through the eyes of Mr. John Carter Cash.

The ONE star is for JEWEL!

[bserrett · 1/10 · 19 June 2019]

This was a horrible, horrible movie!! The Ross dude was TORTURE to watch; they must have just pulled him in off the street!!! I loved "I Walk the Line," and I was so looking forward to a movie from June's perspective. This may be a movie from June's perspective, but I didn't think that Jewel would be the best actor in the movie!!! The director and the cameramen must have all been high or drunk. Worst movie I have seen in years!!!

Horrendous cash-in that misses every mark

[Robert_duder · 1 June 2013]

This movie would have an uphill battle no matter what because it will rightfully be compared to Walk The Line at every turn. But there isn't a stick of comparison. Walk The Line was a superb piece of film making and this was made strictly because they knew people would watch it because of Walk The Line. It is so poorly made and yes it is a made for TV movie but the worst part is they don't even try. First, in watching this on DVD the sound was atrocious. It might have been the worse sound I have ever heard. It was tinny and had echo and that is completely unacceptable in a film about music. The lip syncing the cast does is so blatant that its almost unwatchable. The script jumps around so much without ever showing you one really deep moment in their relationship or their lives. The cast is so mis-cast that its nearly painful to watch. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if we didn't know how incredible this story could be told. I don't know if its a rights issue or what but the music is downright disappointing. Cash doesn't sing any of his big hits and neither does June. The music is straining to get them to sing anything let alone their big hits. We get one scene with June writing Ring of Fire and then a haphazard sub-par scene of them singing it at the very end which only serves to call out their average chemistry.

In all my days of movie watching I have seen my share of mis-cast characters but putting Jewel Kilcher and Matt Ross as June Carter-Cash and Johnny Cash will go down in the history books of the worst casting ever. Jewel is a beautiful singer but old fashion country is not her genre. She definitely has a fiery personality but sometimes it feels forced on her part. Her singing isn't anymore June Carter-Cash than mine would be if I belted out a tune. She seems to just struggle to portray the Country icon. Matt Ross certainly doesn't look the part of Johnny Cash even remotely close. But that doesn't bother me. He looks far too old to play the role in various stages (he's not too old but he looks it) He tries to get some of Johnny's mannerisms down but again it feels forced. His singing is so auto tuned and tinny that its distracting and he doesn't even remotely capture the charisma and voice necessary to play a legend like Cash. Outside of a few familiar faces the supporting cast doesn't really stand out. A few reviewers called out the performance of Frances Conroy as Mother Maybelle but I didn't think she was any more impressive than anyone else.

I think perhaps I am being extra hard on this film because Walk The Line is one of my favourite movies and I have such a great respect for both of these singers and I felt like Lifetime and the film makers made no real effort to make this watchable. The chemistry between Jewel and Ross is okay but their stage chemistry is practically zero and that's not acceptable. Director Allison Anders has a decent history in Television directing but this is bare bones Johnny and June. It is truly a TV Movie and while that isn't necessarily a bad thing, it certainly doesn't work for this story. A low budget, low production value TV movie with some of the worst sound editing I have ever heard made this very hard to watch. Was there anything redeemable? It wasn't the worst thing I've sat through. I mean, June and Johnny have the sort of epic real life romance that is heart wrenching and even the closing scenes of this movie manage to capture a little of that timeless love. Otherwise this was a severe disappointment, poorly cast and poorly done. 3/10

Ring of Fire, Filmed in the new (and overused) Rattle-Vision

[AnimatronicBearLLC · 3/10 · 23 August 2013]

Could they have possibly shaken the camera any more?

I might have somewhat enjoyed this movie if a bit of moderation was exercised when deciding when & how long to shake the camera. This technique can add tension when employed selectively but that did not happen here. The camera shook & shook & then shook some more. This technique is being overused in recent years and it is becoming quite tiresome!

Unfortunately, it felt like half of the film was shot in this, shall we call it: "Rattle Vision". Too much of this ruins the entire experience.

I've never before gotten motion sick while sitting in an easy chair, but "Ring of Fire" nearly drove me to toss my cookies into the Ring of Porcelain down the hall.

Because of the extreme queasiness I suffered trying to watch this mess, I feel compelled to rate it 3 stars out of 10. My apologies to the cast as they may have done a good job but I'll never know because most of the footage is a blur!

Just a total waste of a movie

[kmf_1974 · 3/10 · 18 April 2014]

They went through her whole life in less than 90 mins. They showed her first husband for like 5 minutes, her second husband once, and barely showed her romance with Johnny that lead to them getting married. Also, never showed her telling any of them about any of her pregnancies. It was like a reader digest version of her life. And the guy in this one SUCKED as a singer of Cash's music. Within the first 45 minutes they went form her as a little girl to being married to Cash. Plus after their son was born they never showed her own daughters again (and never showed any of Cash's kids from his first marriage or her interaction with them). They wanted you to have an emotional connection to her when she finally broke down and said how hard it was dealing with his addictions, yet they did NOTHING to make you feel connected to her. Same as when the family had the "emotion filled" intervention for Johnny. As a movie that is supposed to celebrate June's life, this failed miserably.

So much better than that other one

[Ditzy-Gypsy · 9/10 · 17 February 2021]

Far better than Walk the Line where no one looked or sounded like the people they were playing. And Johnny Cash doesn't like he's having a mini stroke or seizure when he starts a song. Much better storyline too.

Jewel Kilcher is amazing in this story of the life of June Carter-Cash.

[TxMike · 29 January 2015]

This is a TV movie, as such it is more than a bit hokey at times, and there are the occasional fades to black for a few seconds when it was time for a commercial. I found it on Netflix streaming movies, the audio and video are very nice.

The main thing I want to mention is how good Jewel Kilcher is as June Carter. I have been a Jewel fan for years, she is a great singer, songwriter, and musician. Her natural talking and singing are not at all like June Carter, in fact Carter was not blessed with a very good singing voice. But Jewel in a black wig and authentic costumes is a great June Carter, and in scenes requiring good acting Jewel is as good as any actress working today.

The story is based on June Carter's own recollection of her life, and we see it from the late 1930s to 2002, the year before she died. Her then husband, Johnny Cash, died just a few months later. Theirs was a rocky relationship, and it only got tolerable after the whole family did an intervention for Johnny to get off drugs and alcohol.

Matt Ross works out just fine as Johnny Cash. This TV movie is a good adjunct to "Walk the Line" which is the Johnny Cash movie.